USA: New AI-powered drone swarms have been demonstrated by the US, UK, and Australia, marking the first time ever that the members of the AUKUS security pact have worked together on autonomous UAV technology. Officials have described this initiative as a way to counter China.

The three-way "capabilities trial" was conducted by the allies late last month in Wiltshire, Britain. According to the US military, this was the first time that "live collaborative retraining of models in flight and the interchange of AI models between AUKUS nations" had been accomplished.

"The work saw the initial joint deployment of Australian, UK, and US AI-enabled assets in a collaborative swarm to detect and track military targets in a representative environment in real time," the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.

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The AUKUS pact, which was established in 2021 as a means of discouraging China in the Indo-Pacific region, has repeatedly drawn criticism from Beijing. The United States committed to providing Australia with nuclear submarine technology under "Pillar I" of the agreement "at the earliest date possible."

Drone tests were carried out under the auspices of the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory as part of "Pillar II" of the AUKUS partnership, which aims to "develop and provide joint advanced military capabilities" between the three allies in order to "promote security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region." 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry admonishes the three participants to stop "ignor[ing] the concerns of the international community," insisting that the new military initiatives will only "motivate an arms race, damage the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and harm regional stability and peace."

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The UAV trials reportedly involved "more than 70 military and civilian defence personnel and industry contractors," according to the British military, who tested swarms of Blue Bear Ghost and Boeing/Insitu CT220 drones. Officials haven't provided many details about the trials, though.

Private contractors provided a number of self-propelled howitzers and Soviet-era BMP vehicles made in the former Czechoslovakia, while UK forces provided several tanks and armoured vehicles for the demonstration. The equipment was used to evaluate how well the drones could locate and track military targets in battle.

As we work as a coalition to identify, track, and counter potential adversaries from a greater distance and with greater speed, this trial demonstrates the military advantage of AUKUS advanced capabilities," British Lt. Gen. Rob Magowan, a senior Defence Ministry official, said in a statement. 

The tests "achieved several world firsts," according to the Australian military, including the live retraining of the drone swarms in flight.

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Russia considers the West's escalating military presence in Asia to be a danger that could result in protracted conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in March that "I cannot imagine the great Asian civilizations toeing the line, as the EU unfortunately did, and obediently delivering Washington's agenda."